Twisted Bits

Bakelite goodies, here we go! These screwy keepers are cut and carved all around into a cheery threesome of buttery nuggets. Almost toggles, they were sliced off diagonally at the ends and so they are not toggles, but wedge-shaped buttons in creamed corn with gouged sections around the tops that form a uniquely striking design. These rugged old buttons likely go back to the 1930's.

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BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC

-Sherbert McGee

Black and AJ, Fifty-Fifty

My dream job in the 1930's would've been to work in a Bakelite button factory. I think about that sometimes when I see a button like this that almost resembles an experiment. This big coat button is half black Bakelite and half apple juice Bakelite with spruce carvings running evenly all over the place. A bit scuffed and dingy, this button has seen better days. But what a cool find! circa 1935.

-Sherbert McGee

Plum & Pear

Feast your eyes on these nifty fruit buttons and see how they shine with a supple, almost lifelike ripeness. Bakelite fruit (and vegetable) buttons are a collectors dream. They always remind me of marzipan—the European confections molded into food shapes. Here we have a juicy maroon plum and a bright butterscotch pear, replete with green fabric stems. Sculpted with dimples and cleavage, these fruity buttons are smooth works of art. Highly sought after, they go back to the trinket/gadget jewelry craze of the 1930's.

-Sherbert McGee

This week I've been posting classic advertisements from issues of Fortune magazine, circa 1938. The ads show how Bakelite was touted as a newly innovative plastic that transformed household fixtures and appliances into freshly styled designs with a bright wave of color options. This particular ad is my favorite with its vibrant depiction of vintage game pieces and a choice radio. Still in pristine condition, this fine page of ephemera is over eighty years old...

Don't Eat My Cookies!

Bakelite cookie buttons have always been a fun part of my collection. Check out the "labels" I've created for this blog and notice that I've now posted over 40 varieties of cookie buttons. I reckon that Cookie Monster would go ballistic. These cookies are a pressed style with an eye-catching design. I don't see this kind of cookie too often in my search for Bakelite buttons. From the 1930's.

-Sherbert McGee

Visit Doreen's online store:

BUTTONS FROM THE ATTIC

What's almost as exciting as finding antiques made of Bakelite? How about vintage magazine ads for Bakelite? Notice the tagline on this advertisement: The Material Of a Thousand Uses. I've been sharing these attractive old ads all week and I still have one more that I'll post tomorrow. Until then...